Lesson 4: The Authority & Amenability of Matthew 19:9

I.The Approach to Matthew 19:9 A.The central passage in the N.T. on the subject of divorce & remarriage is Matthew 19:9. B.Jesus was returning man’s minds & practices (regarding marriage) to God’s original plan. 1.God never intended for divorce to be permitted without sin attached. 2.God’s law about marriage is permanent, never went away & must be followed by all.

II.The Authority of Matthew 19:9 A.The Pharisees did not see Jesus as an authority—they “came to Him, testing Him” (19:3). 1.To the Jews, Moses was looked to as their authority (19:7). B.Jesus took His opponents back to “the beginning” twice to emphasize original authority (4, 8). 1.The context of Matthew 19:1-12 is rich in contrasts.

II.The Authority of Matthew 19:9 C.The authority in Matthew 19:9 is Jesus Himself! 1.Jesus finally said, “I say to you.” 2.His authority is divine & reaches back to the beginning. a)“He who made them at the beginning” (19:4; cf. Col. 1:16). b)“What God has joined together” (19:6; cf. John 1:3). c)“From the beginning” (19:8; cf. John 1:1). 3.Jesus contrasted man’s authority and Moses’ authority with His/Divine authority! a)“And I say to you” (19:9; cf. 5:32). b)Moses was the lawgiver (cf. Jn. 1:17); now Christ is the lawgiver (1 Co. 9:21; Ga. 6:2). D.Matthew 19:9 is God’s law on MDR.

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 A.To alter amenability to Matthew 19:9, some try altering the amenability of Matthew 19:9. 1.The clarity of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19:9 could not be clearer. 2.The force (and restrictiveness) of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19:9 is obvious. 3.To dismiss the forcefulness & restrictiveness of Matthew 19:9, some have crafted falsehoods. a)From one extreme: Matthew 19:9 is not part of N.T. law & doesn’t apply to Christians. b)To another extreme: Matthew 19:9 is a covenant passage that only applies to Christians.

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 B.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to Christians. 1.Advocates argue that the N.T. took effect on Pentecost in Acts 2, and therefore, anything stated in the Bible before Acts 2 (incl. Mathew 19:9) is not part of the N.T. a)They claim Matthew, Mark, Luke, John & Acts 1 are not part of the new covenant. b)They claim the law for the church (Christians) was not given until Pentecost & after. c)Their motivation is the removal of the “exception clause” from N.T. doctrine. d)This doctrine (Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to Christians) is blatantly false!

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 B.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. a)Truth: To reject one verse/doctrine (i.e., Matthew 19:9) as part of the N.T. necessarily requires the rejection of the entire chapter, book & all four gospel accounts as part of N.T. b)Truth: Jesus came to both fulfill the Old and to establish the New. He did both! (Matt. 5:17; John 12:48).

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 B.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. c)Truth: While Jesus did explain parts of the Law of Moses, He also taught the New. 1)Are verses like these part of the Old (i.e., Jesus explaining it) or part of the New? (John 3:3, 5; Matt. 19:28; John 14:6; Matt. 28:18- 20; Mark 16:15-16) 2)Jesus taught many things that were not part of the Law of Moses cf. Deut. 12:32; Prov. 30:6). 3)Jesus taught many things (binding on us today) not repeated after Acts 2 (cf. Matt. 5:28; 23:9).

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 B.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. d)Truth: Jesus often contrasted the teaching of the Old with His teaching. 1)He could not be merely clarifying/explaining the Old if He was differentiating (cf. Matt. 5:21-44). 2)If Matthew 19:9 merely explained the Law of Moses, then Jesus contradicted it (cf. Deut. 24:1-4; Lev. 20:10). 3)Even Pharisees recognized Jesus was contrasting His teaching with Moses (19:7).

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 B.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. e)Truth: Law can be spoken and taught before it takes effect as law. 2)Before Acts 2, Jesus taught things that (by His authority) would go into effect later (Mk. 16:15-16; Mt. 26:26-29; Lk. 16:18; Mt. 18:17) 3)Before Acts 2, Jesus taught “new” things not authorized in the Law of Moses (Mark 7:19; John 4:21; 10:16; 11:47-53) 4)Before Acts 2, Jesus taught for men to keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15; 15:14). 5)How can Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 21 & Acts 1 not be law today?

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 B.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. f)Truth: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John were ALL WRITTEN AFTER Pentecost. 1)If Jesus’ teachings (in Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn) do not apply to us, then to whom? 2)If Matthew 19:9 is not amenable to us today, it was never amenable to anyone. 3)These books were written by the authority of Christ!

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 C.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is amenable ONLY to Christians. 1.Advocates argue that this is a “covenant passage” that is amenable only to husbands and wives who are both Christians (i.e., members of the church). a)Not apply to two non-Christians married or to a Christian married to a non-Christian. b)And, since these individuals are not amenable to it, they cannot commit adultery.

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 C.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is amenable ONLY to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. a)Truth: It is obvious that Jesus was returning to God’s original marriage laws… 1)These marriage laws embraced the whole of humanity. 2)Not limited to “covenant people” but extend to all people. b)Truth: There was not a single Christian present when Jesus was speaking. c)Truth: Since those outside the church can commit the sins of fornication and adultery, then the marriage laws of God must apply to them (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 C.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is amenable ONLY to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. d)Truth: Jesus universally applied His teaching with unlimited application to “whoever.” 1)“Whoever” is not a word limited by Jesus to Christians in a “covenant” (Matt. 5:21, 22, 28; 16:25; 5:32). 2)“Whoever” is used interchangeably by Jesus with “everyone” (Matt. 5:22, 31-32). 3)Jesus’ universal use of “whoever” matches the rest of the N.T. (Rom. 10:13; Rev. 22:17).

III.The Amenability of Matthew 19:9 C.False amenability doctrine: Matthew 19:9 is amenable ONLY to Christians. 2.Answering this false doctrine with the truth is necessary and fairly simple. e)Consider again this logical argumentation from Wayne Jackson: 1)Christ’s teaching on marriage was a restoration of Heaven’s original plan. 2)But God’s original plan encompassed mankind as a whole. 3)Thus, Christ’s teaching on marriage encompasses mankind as a whole. D.Matthew 19:9 is amenable to all men and all women in all marriages today.